Together We Will Live Forever
by bohemiange
Summary: Kris and Junior are married, but Junior has pursued bullriding. Krunior fans: this is a Krunior story couldn't write anything else but be warned, not every story has a happy ending. Read to find out.
1. Facing Reality

FACING REALITY

**AN: This story is inspired by the tune "Together We Will Live Forever" by Clint Mansell from The Fountain. Feel free to listen to it on repeat as I did when I was writing this :-). It was originally going to be a Oneshot but as I got into, it got pretty long so I'm breaking it up. Because I felt like gushing, you guys will have to wait for updates ;-) I hope you enjoy it!**

The first day was the hardest. As she walked into the room, she first heard the beeping of a heart monitor that would become background music in her mind. The she noticed her husband lying motionless, propped up slightly in the bed, surrounded by institutionally white sheets. Junior lay with his eyes closed, his skin the palest Kris had ever seen.

She wanted to leave. Run, run, until reality slipped away into a some kind of nightmare or bad practical joke. Kris could not see her love like this. She hadn't seen him since the accident and she had no idea it would be this hard.

But she would not leave. The fighter within her dug her feet into the ground and opened her eyes that had been shut against the tears. Just like the man lying before her, she could not feel her body as she advanced toward the bed. When she was beside him, a shaky hand lifted to rest on Junior's shoulder and a sigh escaped her lips. She ran her hand through his silky hair, wanting only to look into his eyes.

As if he had read her mind, he slowly opened his eyes, blinking away sleep. "Hey, baby," Kris choked. She laughed slightly, unaware of why.

His eyes sunk into her pleasantly. "It's good to see you," he said plainly.

"You too."

After the pleasant moments of a welcomed silence, Kris bent down and kissed him softly. The hand that normally pulled her back into the kiss after she backed away never came. Reality began to slowly and painfully set into Kris' mind and body. "How've you been, Kris? Better than me, I hope," he chuckled, looking down at his body.

She could not believe how, well, _Junior_ he still seemed. A weak smile greeted him as he looked back at her. "Can I…?" she asked, moving her eyes toward the bed beside him, not quite sure of how to act.

"You don't have to ask," he replied, still cheerful.

Kris climbed on to the bed slowly with him, realizing how much she had taken those moments together in bed for granted. "I've been okay," she said quietly, slowly. "A little shook up. Wildfire is doing great. We, we've won a few races." Her voice broke a bit.

"Well that's great, baby! Keep it up!" he whispered, sounding quite tired.

How could he be so pleasant when she was on the verve of breaking down? "But, you know, it's hard Junior. I really, I really miss you, baby. I wish you could come back home. It's hard."

That seemed to wipe away the remnants of Junior's front of feeling perfectly fine and a worried expression crossed his face. "I miss you, too."

Kris glanced down at his body.

She grabbed his hand and brought it to her chest so that he could feel her heart beat. She waited for a moment before whispering, "Can you feel me, baby? Junior?" Her hand held on tightly to his, squeezing it.

She should not have asked. Deep down she knew she would not get the answer that she was looking for.

Junior had been injured in a bull-riding accident. Seriously injured. When he had been thrown off of the bull he laid on his stomach, delayed in his getting up because the wind was knocked out of him. Unphased, the bull charged him with unbreakable rage. Before Junior could stand, the bull's hoof came down on his back, just at the bottom of his neck. The crowd became silent and time froze. Kris had stood up to confirm that her eyes had indeed been playing tricks on her. But they hadn't, and Kris watched helplessly as cowboy-like men ran into the ring where Junior's body lay, completely limp.

It was the most beautiful circus of agony. Colors flashed through the eerie silence as men in red danced around distracting the bull, men in tan cowhide stood by the gate trying to awaiting its arrival, and paramedics in pale blue surrounded the helpless Junior.

Kris barely remembered what she had done. In a daze, she had hurried down to the floor of the stadium, trying to get the attention of anyone who would know what was happening. Yet she remembered watching, completely numb, as the flashing lights of the ambulance moved into the distance. She remembered the horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach as she doubled over in anguish, in fear, in worry.

Two weeks later, after days of waiting and worrying, after Junior had woken from the coma that would not let him go, they lay together on the hospital bed. But two weeks later he was rendered almost completely paralyzed from a spinal chord injury, on life support, and almost too weak to move the one part of his body that he could: his head.

Kris never should have asked.

Junior clenched his eyes tight, fighting back tears. He did not have the energy to shake his head no. Or maybe he didn't have the strength to tell Kris what she dreaded to hear. Without letting go of his hand, Kris leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek, then settled in by his neck. She used all of the strength that she had left to keep from crying.

"Kris?" Junior whispered. She looked up at him. "I want to hold you so, so badly, baby." Kris couldn't take it. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his neck.

Junior wanted to put his arms around her in return, and not being able to was the worst feeling he had ever felt. This pain he would have to live with for the rest of his life. It was a kind of pain that he didn't need nerve endings to feel. It exploded in his chest and tortured him on its way down to his toes, only to shoot back up through his lifeless arms, taunting him with the notion that they could not feel his wide who lay right there. It gave him headaches so sever that the entire world in front of him turned grey. It battered against the walls of his brain, and it would later drive him to the point where he would yell at the very woman he yearned so much to be with.

Junior didn't need to look at her to feel her gaze on him, nor did he need to glance down to know that she was moving her finger in circles near the bottom of his neck like she always did. He felt himself relax. "I love you, Kris."

"I love you, too," she managed, as she stopped crying. Kris closed her eyes tight and prayed with all of her will, as she would every night, for him to get better. She prayed this every single night, knowing it was in vain.


	2. Pain

ANGER

Weeks passed slowly. Matt, Dani, Jean, Pablo, and sometimes Ken were in and out of the hospital occasionally, but Kris insisted on staying there are much as she possibly could. In between training and racing she visited Junior and updated him on everything: the ranch, the horses, their friends and family, everything.

It was Saturday afternoon and Kris was done with her racing. She entered Junior's room, tapping lightly on the door as she did. A soft gasp can from the entrance as Kris' eyes fell on Junior.

"It's nothing," he said reassuringly. Two IVs ran menacingly through his arms and connected him to yet another machine. "There's for they headaches. This will make them go away," he assured a worried Kris. "Or so they say," he added, laughing.

When Kris had heard that he was getting headaches she went berserk on the hospital staff at the closest desk: _Don't you realize that this is the only part of his body that he can feel? My goodness, what are you even doing if you can't take care of that! What is he supposed to do, rub his temples and will them to go away? I suggest you get on this, and quickly._ "Your headaches got worse?" she said, trying to stay calm.

"It's no big deal, I'm fine," he said. Junior didn't want to talk about it.

"You didn't tell me they were getting worse. Babe, why didn't you tell me; I would have let them know sooner."

"Kris," he said, a bit annoyed. "I'm _fine_. Now could you stop worrying? Please?"

She pulled up her chair and sat. As she stroked his hair she said, "Baby, if it ever hurts I'm right here, okay? We'll get through this," she said seriously. "I'll be with you for every step of the way," she said, trying her best to sound sure of herself.

"Don't you get it, Kris?" he replied suddenly. "There are no 'steps of the way'. This is all I'm ever going to be," Junior yelled. He shut his eyes against emotions that he had never felt so strongly: helplessness and anger.

He was not angry at her; she hadn't done anything wrong and she didn't deserve this. Maybe he was angry at himself for doing this to her, angry at God for doing this to him. He was angry that he could not go back and undo it all. In the silence that ensued Junior's comment he wished desperately that he could take it back.

"Kris, I'm sorr—"

"No," she interrupted, shaking her head, "you don't ever, _ever_ have to apologize to me, Junior." He did what he could to nod his head.

"I don't know…I just…" he muttered, not wanting to continue. Kris knew how much he needed the silence and this time to himself, so she got up from her chair and moved towards the door. "Don't go," Junior called quietly. "Please, don't leave."

His wife slowly turned back towards the bed. She returned to his side, holding back the tears that clouded her eyes. "I'll never leave you, baby." She bent down to kiss away the single tear that slid down his cheek. "I love you." She was gone before he could respond.

Junior's mind tossed and turned that night with a pent-up angst that his still body was not able to release. When Kris returned she rested, as she did for hours each night, with her head buried in the crook of his neck. She was all he could ever feel.

This woman was the love of his life. Beginning the day that they first met, she became all that he had wanted. And these moments that they lay together silently in the darkness was when he wanted her the most. He wanted to spend every minute of his life with this woman. He wanted to see her, to feel her, to love her every single day of his life. He wanted to touch her, to make everything okay, to hold her and never let her go.

_Instead I'm killing her._

His mind tossed and tossed and tossed and turned that night. He could not live with himself like this. He couldn't do this to Kris, the woman he loved.

**AN: Short. My apologies. Me love brevity.**


	3. Together We Will Live Forever

TOGETHER WE WILL LIVE FOREVER

**I reiterate:**

**This story is inspired by the tune "Together We Will Live Forever" by Clint Mansell from The Fountain. Feel free to listen to it on repeat as I did when I was writing this :-). _Hint, hint._ (I believe) The tune is really great and inspirational, I think most will enjoy it.**

Kris was giving Junior an update on things. She talked mindlessly, as she always did, to keep her head away from the pain. "We lost the race by half a length, but there's always next time, right?" she laughed, trying like always to be cheerful. "Plus, the weather wasn't the best. Actually, the weather has been pretty crappy for the last few days, but what can you do?" Kris asked, not expecting an answer.

"Kris," Junior interrupted seriously, with more force than he had felt in the last six months. That one word, her own name that she had heard Junior say countless times scared her to tears. Yet she had no idea that her very own name would be the most ominous word she would ever hear. How could she have known that her own name would be the beginning of Junior's goodbye?

"Kris," he repeated when no answer came.

"What is it, honey?" She knew the answer. She was lying to herself by even asking.

"Kris, I can't – I can't do this to you anymore," he said, glancing longingly at her with just his eyes. She moved her chair closer and stroked the smooth skin of his face.

"Don't be silly," she choked. "You're the love of my life, I'll be with you forev…forever," she finished, struggling.

"Kris, I can't. I just can't. I love you too much."

She had tried to be strong. She had fought back ever tear until she had left the room. She had held his hand when she knew for sure that he couldn't feel it. But it was too much. She couldn't hold it any longer. And so the tears began to slowly, one by one, fall down her face with no remorse, no regret. Her face fell into her hands as she whimpered quietly, trying to muffle the sound.

"Baby, don't cry," he said simply, trying to be as strong as Kris had been for the last half-year. "Baby, don't cry." All she could do was softly whisper his name with the amount of sorrow that she had held in her chest for so long. She wiped her face and looked up at Junior, who was trying his best to look at her but couldn't seem to meet her eyes. "Please, Kris. Do this for me. Please." He paused, tears beginning to slide down his face as well. "I love you. I love you so, so much, Kris. More than you could ever know."

She placed her head on his chest and cried outwardly, tangling her fingers into his cotton robe, holding on the only way that she could. "Junior," she said again.

And so they lay there together in the quiet hospital room, loving each other the only way that they could: through their unspoken sorrow. They cried the same tears.

**Several Days Later**

Kris climbed onto the bed with Junior and lay beside him, grabbing his hand out of habit. "Can you turn me towards you?" It hurt her so much to do this, as simple as it was. It hurt so much to see him so weak. She gently turned his head towards her so that he could look at her. Junior looked into her eyes for a long time, searching them. "Kris, it's true. I really do." When she looked at him questioningly he gently continued, "I see you."

She shut her eyes against the tears, but her entire body shook. She loved this man so much, had so many memories. It was impossible to imagine a life without him. "Kris," he said, knowing it was the last time he ever would. "I wouldn't have it be anyone else but you," he whispered, assuming she knew what he was referring to. "Everything will be fine. We'll be fine. I promise." He glanced quickly at the tube that she had been instructed to disconnect. When she followed his gaze, she resisted shaking her head no. This was it. "I love you," he said.

She nodded her head, unable to speak. She lifted her trembling hand to disconnect the sustaining tube. Junior smiled reassuringly and repeated, "I love you." Gently, softly, as if it was the last time.

And it was.

Kris listened to the heart monitor increase its speed in disbelief as Junior closed his eyes. Gasping at the nightmare that lay motionless before her, she heard the monitor go monotone. Her head collapsed onto his chest and she cried until she had nothing left in her. She cried for the man that had loved her, the man that she had loved with all of her heart. She cried until she had nothing left.

When countless time had passed, she wearily lifted her head and kissed his cheek. She stared at his peacefully resting face and whispered, "I love you, too."

The walls of that hospital eyed the girl who paced their hallways day in, day out. That mysterious girl who had loved a man that loved her back. The same girl who had watched, helpless, as he slipped away.

And only these walls truly understood that the mysterious girl had died the moment the man in her arms had. They were the only ones who could no longer see her, but only a ghost of what she used to be. For sixth months he was dying, and that was killing her. And after the six months that were eternity, they died together, with nothing left to say.

She tried to remember him before the accident: it was less painful that way. Yet she could never truly forget. Scarred, branded by arguments of euthanasia logistics, haunted by whitewashed walls and secured IVs and beeping heart monitors. And she knew that the one who knew the recovery room the best was the only one who would never fully recover. But that man had made her promise that she would continue to live her life fully; he would be by her side the entire time. So as she walked into the sunlight, out of the hospital for the last time, she kissed her ring and held it to her heart, remembering the words he had said:

_Together We Will Live Forever_

**I know this is the end, but please please please review. I want feedback people; I worked hard and now I'm tired. I will not write for a while, thanks being owed to junior year doing its job.**


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